TPWD Game Warden Field Notes

The following are excerpts from recent Texas Parks and Wildlife Department law enforcement reports.

Riverbed Reminder — A Montgomery County Game Warden recently headed up an ATV patrol operation targeting motorized vehicles in freshwater stream bed violations on Spring Creek, which is located on the Montgomery — Harris County line. As with past patrols, there were abundant ATV and off-road vehicle activities in and along the creek. The patrol lasted throughout the night and into the early morning hours. When all was said and done, 44 cases had been filed: 33 motorized vehicles in stream bed, three DWIs, two public intoxication cases, two minor in possession cases, one possession of stolen property (ATV) case, one failure to obey a lawful order, and two other violations. Also, four subjects were arrested and transported to the Montgomery County Jail, three trucks were towed, and two ATVs were seized.

Reaching Out — Game Wardens teamed up with a wildlife biologist to teach a hunter education camp recently. The camp was held on the McPherson Ranch in Sutton County. The 20 young participants received instruction in wildlife identification, wildlife habitat, firearms and archery. This camp has been held for the last seven years and has a waiting list. The camp was organized by a retired Sutton County Game Warden. A great time was had by all, and all students passed their hunter safety test.

More Reaching Out — Game Wardens from Bosque, Erath, Hamilton, Hill, and McLennan counties participated in the 10th Annual Waco Kidfish. Approximately 3,000 kids and adults attended the event. The event was filmed and shown on a local fishing show. The event was started 10 years ago with the assistance of Waco District Game Wardens who supplied the fishing rods for the event. The fishing rods were purchased by the Texas Game Warden Association, using money raised at the Waco Game Warden Association fundraiser. Food and drinks were supplied by local businesses.

Lying Gets You Nowhere — Using information gathered from the clerks at the Fort Worth office, a TPWD Marine Unit Investigator filed charges against a Flower Mound man for failure to pay state sales tax. The individual registered a 35-foot Fountain speedboat and stated he paid $10,000 for it. After a conversation about falsification of government documents, the individual went quickly to the Fort Worth office and corrected the paperwork to the actual price of $126,000. He paid the remaining tax of $7,287.50. He tried to blame the clerks for writing the wrong price on the forms.

Tragedy — A Bosque County Warden worked on a boating accident on Lake Whitney involving two PWCs. An investigation revealed that the two PWCs had collided with each other while crossing from opposite directions behind the path of a boat towing a tube. The occupants of the PWCs and the boat were family and friends who were vacationing on Lake Whitney for a few days. One male subject suffered no apparent injuries and refused medical treatment. The other male subject suffered internal injuries and was care-flighted from the scene to Hillcrest Hospital in Waco where he later died.